30 Days- Darkest Powers Chronicles
by Eletha Landon
Summary: 30 Day CHLEREK Writing Challenge. 30 prompts. 30 days. One pairing. Enjoy! Review and let me know which is your favorite so far!
1. Day 1- Holding Hands

**Author's Note- So I know I should totally be updating Forbidden- don't fret, it's coming soon- but I recently decided that I wanted to try my hand at one of these 30 day challenges. So, naturally, I picked a **_**writing**_** challenge for 30 days of goodness with my favorite pairing.**

**That's right, 30 straight days of Chloe and Derek! :D Each day will be different, of course, and set in my Darkest Powers Chronicles universe. I'll do my best to let you know when in the timeline each day falls within with the parenthesis below the chapter's title.**

**Enjoy!**

**Day 1- Holding Hands**

**(Post: Mission Impossible- Pre: Surprise.)**

Going on walks was kind of our thing. The campus didn't really have any trails or back woods to slip off to when we wanted to escape the world. Changing was done once a week in the woods behind Dad's farmhouse about a half an hour away. School was such a time consumer, we struggled even with that much.

But we always found time for our walks and made do with what we had. Chloe had a giant production project presentation due and I was supposed to be preparing for a physics mock lecture for my student teacher program. But, for a blissful- and thankfully uninterrupted- half an hour each night, Chloe and I put those responsibilities aside and simply- well, walked.

Being Corvallis, it rained most spring, summer and fall nights. The snow was sloshy and irritating in the winter. But we didn't care. Giving up our walks was like Chloe giving up her mother's necklace or me giving up my usefully heightened senses. It was a part of who we were. What we were.

It was the one time whenever we meandered around campus together that we were totally and completely ourselves.

Chloe's fingers were loosely laced through mine. Despite us being fairly physically interactive with each other for a while, this remained to be my favorite form of contact with her. It was just so simple, so easy. My lips never failed to quirk upwards whenever she slipped her hand into mine. And she knew it too.

At this point it had almost become a secret language between us.

If I felt the Change coming on- maybe I had waited a day too long to just bring it about myself because we were just so busy- it was a quick question of _'You okay?'_ with all the underlying questions of _'Do you need to head off to the farmhouse?'_, _'Is it coming quickly?'_, _'Want me to come with you?'_

Usually I simply squeezed he fingers as an affirmation to the answers she already knew.

'_I'm fine. Should probably take off soon, just in case. And of course I want you to come with me.'_

If Chloe's stutter slipped back into her speech- which, since she's evolved from that quiet, self-conscious, stuttering girl that I had first met back at Lyle House, meant that something was really, _really_, bothering her- it was a reassurance.

'_Slow down. Take a breath. I'm right here.'_

If my temper flared it simply meant that it was her turn to calm me down.

If we were in public and there was a ghost then I'd act as if it were me she was actually talking to.

Sometimes I'd take her hand because guys were looking at her. Sometimes she'd take my hand because girls were looking at me. Neither of us were fully above expressing to others that they needed to back off. And neither of us judged each other for it.

But mostly, especially when we just wandered around with no particular destination or task in mind, it simply meant that we were there.

'_You're mine and I'm yours.'_

"-and then she- hey, you know, this isn't supposed to be a funny story. What are you over there grinning about?" Chloe muttered dryly, grabbing my attention.

"Sorry. Continue. I'm listening."

Chloe ignored my urge to go on about that _'annoying-little-freshman-that-thinks-just-because-her-family-paid-for-her-to-go-away-to-an-expensive-prestigious-filmography-summer-camp-every-year-since-she-started-middle-school-that-now-she's-all-kowing'_ and her expression softened. Her loose grip tightened just slightly.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked.

Only because I wasn't as verbally a cheeseball as I was inside my own head, I didn't answer. Physically, though, as Simon so graciously put it, I was pretty corny. So I squeezed her fingers and lifted her hand to my lips. I gently kissed her wrist, inhaling her sweet scent as discreetly as possible before dropping our hands back to our sides.

She raised an eyebrow at me, but couldn't hide the hint of pink creeping over the bridge of her nose. I smiled.

"So she turned her noes up at your production efficiency plan and then what did she do?" I asked, once again pressing for her to continue with her story. It took her a moment but she went on and we resumed our walk, hands locked a little tighter now.

'_You're mine and I'm yours.'_

And I hoped that if holding hands made that idea seem so simple, that it stayed that way for a long time to come.

At least long enough for me to build up the courage to pull the ring out of my pocket that I had picked up over a year ago. That way, after, I would feel more affirmed that she wanted the exact same thing.

**I think that most of these will be pretty short, nothing more than drabbles littered in the timeline here and there. It would be pretty hard to make anything too long if I'm going to really go through and write something every day.**

**Anyways, what do you guys think?**

**Also, say this is successful in the end, and I wanted to try and take this 30 day challenge with two of my own characters, would you guys want to see that? Review and let me know! Until tomorrow!**


	2. Day 2- Cuddling

**Author's Note- You guys are awesome. :) Thanks so much for the reviews and subscriptions so far and I'm glad you all seem to enjoy the idea. And there is more to come! **

**This one should be interesting. Totally taking on a new POV. We'll see how it goes.**

**Enjoy!**

**Day 2- Cuddling**

**(Post: Love and War- Pre: As My Own)**

Kit trudged downstairs rather early for a Saturday. The house was peaceful, a nice contrast when living with four stir-crazed, genetically modified, teenage supernaturals. On a _normal_ day, Simon and Tori could be heard bickering in the living room while Chloe and Derek were chewing each other out for something or other just about wherever they were.

At least things between Simon and Tori seemed relatively expected and standard. Or at least as expected and standard as two teenagers suddenly slammed together with an explanation of 'Hey, you two are actually brother and sister, so play nicely, okay?' With each passing day Kit felt more confident in his decision to tell them that they were all biologically related.

That confidence wavered a little, though, when it came to his other son and his budding relationship with Dr. Lauren Fellows' niece.

At first Kit was thrilled. Chloe was cute and kind, but also sharp and honest. He was surprised to see Chloe stand her own against Derek in some ways the he and Simon had never been able to. And Kit really felt as if that was good for Derek. Something he needed. _Someone_ he needed. Derek had always needed someone to challenge him, test him.

Or at least, that's what Kit had originally thought.

Being with them for a while now, it seemed like Chloe challenged Derek _too_ much. It wasn't as if she were going out of her way to do things in spite of him. But whenever she did something he didn't like, he'd jump on her case about it. Then she'd fight back and it almost seemed as if they were always arguing. Always fighting. Always at each other's throats about the smallest things.

Chloe went off to a friend's house without company. Derek growled at some kid checking her out in the hallway at school. She wanted a girl's night at the movies with Tori. He wanted to sit in the back row, _'just-in-case-no-really-you-won't-even-notice-that-I'm-there.'_

'_Why did you show up even though we agreed that you wouldn't?'_

'_Why'd you exclude the fact that you weren't going to the movies with _just_ Tori?'_

'_You're impossible!'_

'You _don't seem to understand the position we're in!'_

For a lack of better words, it sucked. Kit had really hoped that Derek had found someone outside of his little pack that he could be himself with. A friend. A partner. A mate. Hey, Kit knew a few things about werewolves. He wasn't going to delude himself from the facts. That was Lauren's job and it could stay that way for a while.

He just wanted his son to be happy. To feel normal and comfortable with what and who he was, because, really, for a very long time, he just didn't. Derek didn't grow up normally for either a boy or a werewolf. And Kit had tried very hard to make up for those first five years that Derek had spent in the lab. Then with Chloe, he thought that having her would help.

With the way things were going, it just didn't seem that way anymore. Derek was still high strung about the Cabals being on their trail, even if it's been months. Chloe was progressively getting fed up with Derek's overbearing tendencies. He was struggling with her ability to put threats on the back burner and she was having a hard time with his inability to let up, only a little. They had been opposites from the start, but maybe they were just _too_ opposite.

With a heavy sigh, Kit pushed against the swinging door that led into the kitchen. He paused, however, cocking his head to the side when he heard a light humming of voices and music coming from the living room down the hall. The television? He wondered why it was on. Perhaps there was someone else in the house who was awake as early as he was.

Padding down the hall towards the living room, he was prepared to greet Lauren- come on, what teenager would be awake at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning. However, when Kit passed through the open doorframe into the living room, he found it unoccupied. But he was initially right about television.

Another sigh, this one slightly irritated. Simon must have left it on after going to bed the night before. It was always Simon. With a note to self to reprimand his son for it later, Kit walked up to the couch and reached over the back to grab for the remote.

He froze. On the couch, beyond his outstretched hand, lounged Chloe and his far more responsible son. Or so previously conceived to be, that is. Tiny Chloe was tucked into Derek's side, the throw pulled over her while Derek's chin rested against the top of her head and his arm was wrapped around her waist. Both sound asleep.

Quietly, Kit stepped back and away from the couch, deciding to leave them. If Lauren had been the one to find them, they wouldn't have gotten away with the slight lapse in responsibility as staying up all night, cuddling and watching TV then falling asleep on the couch together so easily. In fact, Kit was sure there would be blood-shed.

With a smile, Kit quietly crept back to the kitchen with the plan of making some noise if he heard the others in the house waking- a warning to the ever light sleeper that his son was, of course- and the thought that maybe things between Derek and Chloe didn't suck so bad after all.

**Kit is so team Chlerek. Hehe, hope you all liked this one. Better than Day 1, or no? Let me know what you think! Until tomorrow!**


	3. Day 3- Gaming

**Author's Note- Ugh! You guys spoil me. I love you all! And just for that very reason, here's Day 3! :D**

**Trying another new POV in this one. Enjoy!**

**Day 3- Gaming**

**(Post: What You do to Me- Pre: Played)**

Dad broke down and finally got us a gaming console. The GameCube may be outdated, but that didn't make it anything less than an awesome gaming platform. Derek and I had built our childhoods off Nintendo, and the nostalgia of playing some of those games again was pretty cool.

Currently, I was kicking his ass on Smash Bros.

"You've gotten rusty, bro." I snickered, using Fox to kick his Kirby out of the arena.

"Shut up," Derek grumbled, trying to focus on his retaliation. He thought he had this strategy of using Kirby to absorb the other character's abilities- which, yeah, that's what Kirby did- and using multiple powers to defeat his opponents. More options, he'd said. He just wasn't too good at executing it. Fox hit harder than Kirby and the game wasn't really about strategy. More about aggression and follow through. You wanted to hit your opponents harder and faster than they could react to.

Meaning, with Derek's scientific brain always trying to analyze his every move and interpret the moves of the other players- well, he sucked.

"Yes!" I cheered, pumping my fist into the air once I took Derek's fifth and final life. "Suck it," I smirked over at him. I could see his jaw working despite his apathetic expression as he glared at the screen. He tried to act like losing didn't bother him, that it was just a stupid game; but Derek had always been a sore loser.

"Rematch."

"You're on."

"Hey guys."

We glanced over our shoulders and up from our position of lounging on beanbags on the living room floor. Chloe walked up to us and smiled a knowing smile at the television screen.

"Hey Chloe," I greeted. Derek's lips quirked up from his previous scowl but he didn't say anything, just looked at her expectantly. The poor puppy was head over heels for our band of misfits' sole necromancer, sulking one minute, then jumping up, tail wagging and tongue lolled out the moment she stepped into the same room. I chuckled at the analogy.

It had been nearly two years since I'd kissed Chloe. Even though, for the first few months, that hadn't really been a pleasant memory, seeing how much my brother and one of my closest friends loved each other had helped me realize that there had never been a chance for Chloe and I. Not even a little. And I was cool with that. Really, cool with it, actually. I liked her, sure. A lot. And the rejection stung for a good minute. But there was something bigger than Chloe choosing my brother over me. An invisible force that connected them that transformed my regret from her denying me for someone else, to me having gotten in their way in the first place.

Now it was all just water under the bridge. Derek was my brother and Chloe was my best friend. All I cared about was seeing them make each other so happy. Even if they argued a good chunk of the time.

"You guys aren't giving that poor thing a break are you?" Chloe said, pulling me from my thoughts. "You've been at it since Kit brought that home hours ago."

"Well, Derek refuses to stop until he's actually won a match. So, really, it could take a while."

I dodged the pillow he had pulled off the couch and chucked at me and met his glower with a cheeky grin.

"Can I try?"

"You like to play?" I asked her. She shrugged.

"Yeah, but I haven't exactly played any videogames in a while. I think the last time I did was with Rae when the Edison Group had us in the lab. We played Legend of Zelda and I enjoyed it."

"Awesome. Then you'll like this game."

Derek reached up to the entertainment shelf and grabbed a third controller. He plugged it into the console and handed it to Chloe. She took it with a smile and sat down beside Derek's beanbag and leaned against it, her arm pressed against his.

"You can play as either Link, Zelda or Ganondorf in this game." I explained as I took us back to the character selection page. Chloe chose Zelda, remarking that it was cool to play as the princess for once instead of the hero. Then she raised an eyebrow at Derek when he- once again- selected the pink puff ball, Kirby.

"He's got a _'strategy'_ with that character." I muttered, using my fingers for air quotes on the word strategy. Chloe rolled her eyes but Derek grumbled something about there being more pillows on the couch behind him.

When we started the match I quickly realized that if Derek was bad, then Chloe was awful. The first match didn't even last five minutes as Chloe kept falling off the arena and didn't know the controls well enough to save herself. On the second match, Derek leaned over and explained all the controls to her. We let our players stand idle while she practiced with the buttons a little bit. She got a little better by the third round.

On the fourth match I noticed out of the corner of my eye Derek leaning over and whispering something into Chloe's ear. Probably just encouragements since, quite frankly, she sucked. But then she got this strange smirk on her face. I shrugged it off and concentrated on attacking Derek's Kirby. Chloe easily killed her player herself more times than Derek and I did.

It took me a couple minutes, though, to realize that neither Derek nor Chloe were going after each other.

"What the hell, you two are ganging up on me!" I exclaimed, dodging the pokeball Derek hurled at me and Chloe's zapping attack.

She giggled and he grunted an affirmation before knocking me out of the arena.

"You dirty, cheating-"

"Hey, you're just mad that you didn't think of it first." Derek rumbled, knowing full well that if I had asked Chloe to team up with me against him, she would have. And she would have.

Two minutes later, I was out.

"Yeah, congrats." I muttered dryly as they boasted and threw me some trash talk. Then I tossed Derek a sardonic grin. "But it doesn't count as a win. Not unless you beat Chloe."

His response was instantly charging Chloe's player, gearing up for an attack.

"Damn, bro. That's cold." I laughed, but stopped short, staring at the screen in shock when Chloe suddenly used Zelda's transformation to turn into Sheik and expertly maneuvered out of Derek's assault before blowing him out of the match.

The living room went quiet. Derek and I shared a perturbed glance before looking questioningly at Chloe.

"Huh. That was lucky, wasn't it?" She murmured in mock innocence.

Only, it wasn't luck. Derek's last two lives were quickly and deftly taken by Chloe's abrupt and dumb-founding skill. As if her inner gaming freak had suddenly awakened and she knew all the right moves that would blow Derek out of the water…

Or she had suppressed it until then.

When the game announced Sheik as the winner, Chloe grinned and chirped, "Wow, thanks for that, guys! This was a lot of fun!"

Then she promptly turned towards Derek, leaned in and pecked his slightly gaping, shell-shocked lips – his disbelieving eyes never left the television screen- then stood and skipped from the room.

"_Pfffffftahahahahaha!_" It took a few seconds before laughter erupted from my lips. My lungs heaved for oxygen as I fell back into my beanbag and gripped my gut and whooped with wave after wave of laughter.

"Oh-ho, oh man! Aha! She to-hotally hu-hustled you, man!"

Getting to see the stupefied- if not slightly amazed and admiring- look on his face was priceless and it made me all the more grateful that Derek had wound up with Chloe and not me.

Because, not only did she enjoy making him happy- in ways that Dad and I couldn't- but she also enjoyed torturing him as much as I did.

**Simon's POV is not the easiest to write. What did you guys think? I personally don't think it's as good as Day 1, but I'm still pretty fond of it. Until tomorrow, review and Happy Halloween!**


	4. Day 4- Date

**Author's Note- Sorry this one was a bit late guys. I was actually pretty busy today. Once again, thanks for all the reviews. You're all too kind.**

**Also, special thanks to my dear **_**Zoe Isabel **_**for totally awesomely making me new story covers for my Darkest Powers Chronicles series. Check them out and, if you guys like them as much as I do, then let her know what an awesome job she did! :D**

**I'll be getting her a One-Shot sometime soon. For now, enjoy Day 4!**

**Day 4- Date**

**(Post: Imperfections- Pre: Something to Envy)**

"Okay, I left a bottle for her in the fridge. If she gets hungry, all you need to do is heat it up."

A nod.

"And if she has a hard time going to sleep, she likes it when Derek rocks her. Usually knocks her right out."

Another nod.

"Oh and-"

"Chloe?" Jeremy said smoothly, a quarter smile tugging at his lips. She paused through her rant, then blushed and laughed at herself.

"Right, you handled Clayton and the twins. Obviously this isn't your first rodeo."

I observed from behind Chloe who stood at the door of the den, giving Jeremy the rundown of how to handle the bundle in his arms. It was the first time since Jenni had been born four months ago that Chloe and I were going to spend time by ourselves. It hadn't even been our idea. In fact, Jeremy was insisting.

Getting used to living at Stonehaven, having a child, our lives being flipped upside down- Chloe and I haven't even been able to hold up to our ritual walks every night. We needed the break. But that didn't mean that we wanted it.

If it wasn't Chloe handing off our daughter to the only man I trusted her life to other than Simon or Dad, I wouldn't have let her go. In fact, Chloe was standing between me and Jeremy because she wouldn't put it past me to march right up to the previous Pack Alpha, pull my kid from his arms and then stalk up the stairs to our room. But I wouldn't. Deep down, there was a part of me that wouldn't dare disrespect Jeremy like that. Nick had this annoying tendency to point out that Clayton and I were similar in that way.

Nick seemed to thoroughly _enjoy_ mentioning all the similarities between Clay and me, fully aware of how much the two of us couldn't stand it.

Anyways, the point was that Jeremy hadn't always been my Alpha, and he wasn't _technically_ my Alpha now- that title belonged to Elena- but _he was_. I hadn't realized how much I trusted and respected him at first, uneasy with accepting this man's offer to take care of my family. However, over the last seven months, the wolf in me accepted the workings of the Pack while my far more reluctant human self grudgingly did as well.

If I hadn't, there would be no way in hell I would be leaving my daughter to be taken care of by anyone in Stonehaven.

"She'll be fine." Jeremy assured. "She's very quiet and surprisingly well behaved for an infant. And, yes, I believe through my experience I can handle as much."

"Thanks for this, Jeremy." Chloe offered. "I know we're being very reluctant, but-"

"Jenni's your first child. Your reluctance to leave her is understandable. But the two of you have been through quite the transition the last few month and you need a break. Go. Enjoy yourselves. I'll call if anything goes wrong."

And so we left, Chloe practically having to drag me from the house after we gave Jenni our goodbyes. Jeremy's dark eyes had met mine in that moment with a silent promise that he'd keep her safe and, again, though the human was still anxious to wholeheartedly put its faith into him, the wolf had no trouble, and we left.

"Wow, I can't believe we're actually getting to have a date night like this. I mean, I know it's only been a few months, but it feels longer." Chloe murmured from the passenger seat.

I grunted something noncommittal, keeping my eyes on the road, mind wandering to if Jeremy knew of Jenni's favorite toy. Or perhaps he didn't know that Derek stood in Jeremy's gallery room when he rocked Jenni to sleep because she was strangely mesmerized by his paintings. Or maybe-

"She'll be fine, Derek." Chloe said quietly, cutting through my frantic thoughts. She reached over and grabbed my hand from gripping tightly at the steering wheel and held it in her lap.

"She'll be fine." She repeated, forcing me to meet her steady blue gaze.

And, for a second, I believed her.

"…right?" She asked suddenly, her expression turning concerned and quizzical. I shrugged.

"Jeremy knows what to do. Though, I was thinking that he'd have a hard time rocking Jenni to sleep if he didn't go to his gallery to do it."

"We should probably call him and tell him." Chloe suggested, grip tightening slightly around my hand.

"Maybe. I think we forgot to tell him what her favorite bedtime story was too."

"Right. I'll give him a quick call and let him know. What else might we have forgotten to tell him?"

"Not to let Clay play peek-a-boo with her. She doesn't like it."

"Right, well, I think he already knows that."

"What about playing the Disney soundtrack in case she starts fussing?"

"Oh yeah! And he should know about her rash too. I can't believe I forgot to mention it to him."

"Did you tell him about her cough medicine?"

"Shit, no, I forgot that too. But, I mean, he's the one who diagnosed her sniffles, so…"

"What about her blanket?"

"Oh no. He won't be able to find it if he needs it. It's in our room somewhere."

I tossed her an anxious glance.

"We should go back." Chloe sputtered, raking her hand restlessly through her hair. I was already flipping the car around.

"We can go on a date another time." She added as a justification. I replied mechanically and without hesitation. I just wanted to get home to my daughter.

"Yeah, definitely."

**Um, it's kind of rushed because I was running so late. But I LOVE Jeremy. He's always been my favorite and I can just imagine how impatient he'll feel when they get back after barely being gone fifteen minutes. Hehe. Hope you enjoyed. I'll probably be late again tomorrow, so I apologize ahead of time. **

**Until then!**


	5. Day 5- Kissing

**Author's Note- Day 5! This actually came to me rather quickly and I decided to try and get it to you guys before I got too busy. I was in a rush and its short, but I actually really like this one.**

**So, I hope you enjoy!**

**Day 5- Kissing**

**(Night after Something to Envy)**

Derek is a very methodical man. Everything he does has a purpose and a consistency, whether he realizes it or not. And the kisses he shared with me are no different. I was sure he had his own meanings to each one locked away in his subconscious, not really aware of the fact that he had five very specific, very significant ways of kissing me, all of which are very special to me and will forever hold a place in my heart.

When he kisses me on the cheek, it's always in a very playful setting. He'd just made a smartass remark or had tackled me to the ground on our many occasions of chase during his Changes- in which, yes, the majority of these kisses are given by his wolf self.

I love the kisses he plants in my hair or against my temple, because I share those with Jenni, in which Derek gives them to us in parting. We had just woken up for the day and he was getting up to get ready for work, or Jenni was about to head down the trail to Stonehaven for her painting lessons with Jeremy. He'd kiss our heads and told us he loved us, being the ever cheeseball that he's grown to be.

His favorite spot definitely had meaning, a message that he was well aware of giving off. He'd kiss me where my shoulder met my neck and I'd be sure that we wouldn't be getting very much sleep that night.

There were those kisses that came out of nowhere, taking me by surprise. Like that one time I had sent him on an errand to pick me up some tampons- that must have been so embarrassing for the poor thing- and he came back with the goods but had swept me up in a heated kiss and told me that I was so beautiful. Or the first night we tucked Jenni into bed in her new nursery after our house was finished. He pulled me into his arms and whispered _'Marry me' _against my lips.

Little did I know that he'd had that ring in his pocket for over five years.

Now, as Derek's lips molded to mine, it was a kiss I hadn't received in many years. Not since the time we had been separated by the Cabals and then reunited. And I knew it had to do with the fact that Derek had just had a brush with death. And because I had almost lost him, I kissed him back just as fervently. Just as desperately and urgently, as if this was going to be our last and we just couldn't let go, couldn't get enough of each other.

I loved him so much. I loved his lopsided smile, his green eyes, his intelligence and his compassion. I loved the way his body felt tangled with mine. I loved his loyalty and, yes, even his overbearing, incessant worrying. I loved his _'I love you'_s and his five special kisses…

And I was just so grateful that all of that hadn't been taken away from me today.

**Obviously takes place right after we hear Meg's thoughts in Something to Envy. I hope you guys liked it because I really enjoyed writing it. Until tomorrow!**


	6. Day 6- Sharing Clothes

**Author's Note- Today's prompt- is late- and a little funny, seeing as how it's physically impossible to apply to one of the two people in question. I guess you'll see as you read on. **

**Again, thanks for the reviews. Hope you're all having as much fun with this whole thing as I am. :D**

**Um, very suggestive themes here. Enjoy!**

**Day 6- Sharing Clothes**

**(Post: Played- Pre: Mission Impossible)**

Living in our own place had brought about a lot of new things in our relationship, but I think the one I enjoyed the most was how comfortable Chloe became walking around in nothing more than one of my shirts.

Like today, and on most Sundays, Chloe stood at the stove, spatula in hand, four pancakes on the skillet, while my shirt draped over her lithe, tiny frame, the length falling short of her mid-thigh. Leaning against the door of the kitchen, I watched as Chloe raised the spatula, promptly flipping one of the Flap Jacks. The movement caused my shirt to pull up, allowing lavender fabric to peak from underneath the hem.

What? I'm a guy. Albeit not a normal one, being a werewolf and all, but I was a guy nonetheless. There's something empowering and sexy about a woman wearing your clothes, whether it be a one night stand or the love of your life. That was probably one of the few things the wolf side and I could agree on.

Because- well… damn.

Before I was caught blatantly checking out my girlfriend's behind, I peeled my gaze away and lumbered to the fridge. I emerged with a carton of milk and some berries that needed to be eaten before they went bad and set them on the counter beside her. She jumped, as skittish as ever, and shot me a halfhearted glare. I apologized by leaning into her and kissing my favorite spot between her neck and her shoulder.

"Hey," She reprimanded as my hands slid down to her hips. She swatted me away with the spatula. "We're not going to repeat last weekend, okay? I didn't much care for charred pancakes."

"You make it sound like it was my fault that they were burnt." I hummed, evading her weapon of choice and moving to her other shoulder, fingers curling around the hem of the shirt of mine she was wearing.

"Oh, it was definitely your fault. If you hadn't distracted me, much like you're doing right now-"

"Takes two to tango, Chloe," I murmured against her skin, making her breath hitch as I nipped at her earlobe.

"Fine, so it was both our faults. But we've been here for a month and hadn't exactly had a well-rounded, wholesome weekend breakfast since we moved in." I could practically hear her pout.

"I actually quite enjoy our not so well-rounded, but definitely very wholesome weekend breakfasts since we moved to our own place."

I got a look for that one.

"Fine," I rumbled with a sigh and stepped away, instantly missing the warmth of her back against my chest. I walked around the breakfast bar and sat at the small, two-seater dining table and propped my chin against my hand, waiting- sulking- for Chloe to finish the pancakes. She tossed me a satisfied smirk before her eyes zeroed in on my wrist.

"Are you wearing one of my cinema club promotional bands?" She asked.

"Hmm?" My brows furrowed as I followed her gaze, finding one of those rubber wristbands that usually had some inspirational trope etched into it. This one was orange and black- the school's colors- and was indeed for promotional purposes for the likes of Chloe's college cinema club.

"Yeah. You were handing them out on Friday and I figured if someone saw me wearing it and asked me about it that I could inform them about your club or direct them to you."

A strange look crossed her features and I wondered for a moment if I shouldn't be wearing one. Perhaps they had a limited supply. I wasn't exactly the most social person, so the purpose of having someone approach me was kind of hindered, therefore wasting the promotion itself. I reached up to take it off before Chloe suddenly muttered, _'Ah, screw it,'_ and tossed the spatula onto the counter.

Next thing I knew she was in my lap, fingers tangled into my hair, lips crushing mine. Confused- I guess I did something right by wearing the band?- but not really complaining, I responded in kind, finally tugging my shirt off of her and tossing it to the floor.

We only stopped long enough to turn off the stove this time.

**Obviously Derek wouldn't be able to fit into anything of Chloe's, so I had to improvise. Hehe, I'm getting a little more comfortable writing in this context. As a lot of you know, the slight tease in Forbidden was my first crack at anything relatively lemony, and I'm just taking it one step at a time. :p Until tomorrow- or later today for most of you. Hehe. **


	7. Day 7- Cosplaying

**Author's Note- I don't really know too much about today's prompt, but I figured with the recent passing of Halloween I can make up what I want as I go. Also, with Naruto coming to an end this week, I'm going to use this chapter to pay tribute to the journey that knuckleheaded ninja took me on over the last 9 years of my life. So, if you're also a fan, I hope you enjoy this. If not, it shouldn't be too hard to follow. **

**Enjoy!**

**Day 7- Cosplaying**

**(Post: Mission Impossible- Pre: Surprise)**

"You're not dressed," Chloe accused from the bedroom doorway.

"Yes I am." I replied from our desk, not looking up from my work. "If I wasn't, I'd be participating in far more entertaining activities than this research paper due on Monday."

A sigh.

"You know what I meant, Derek."

I didn't even grace her with my _'Yeah, it's not going to happen,'_ look. She knew how I felt about this stupid holiday, and dressing up in stupid costumes for it. Especially after the stunt she pulled four years ago and tricking me into collaborating with her Red Riding Hood costume as the Big Bad Wolf.

Haha. Yeah, that was _hilarious_.

"Okay, I know you hate Halloween-"

Hate wasn't really a strong enough word for it. I mean, if you really thought about the concept of Halloween, humans dressed up like monsters for a night for whatever reason. What kind of monsters? Well, monsters like witches and vampires, wizards and demons, ghosts and werewolves… monsters like us.

It wasn't a very endearing thought.

"-but we're doing this for Simon this year." Chloe continued.

That's right. Simon had requested that we all dress up like the characters from one of his favorite manga series. The one he's been reading since he was a kid. I'd seen a couple episodes of the show based off of it when we were younger, but it had been more Simon's thing. Apparently the story was coming to an end over the next week and Simon wanted to pay tribute? I didn't get it, really. It was just a story. Stories come to an end eventually. No reason to be so- well, weird about it.

I glanced up at Chloe to see her already in her costume. She was wearing a pink wig cut short to her shoulders and there was a purple diamond was painted on her forehead. Her clothes were rather simple, only sporting a red sweatshirt and tan pants.

Simon had already sent me a selfie of his costume, having spiked his blonde hair in all different direction and drawn whiskers on his face. I didn't even want to think about his orange jump suit. The point was that the two were dressed as the main hero and heroine of the story.

"Let me guess, you guys wanted me to dress up like that third guy. The brooding one with a temper and a bad attitude. If so, that's probably worse than your barb with the wolf thing a few years ago."

"Actually we were thinking you could be one of the sensei's ninken." Chloe said with a smirk.

"Ninken?"

"You know, the ninja dogs."

I turned back to my research paper, effectively ignoring her.

"Oh come on, Derek. You have to learn to have fun with what you are. I mean, I was a ghost last year and a zombie the year before that. Simon's been Harry Potter basically every year up until now and even _you_ have to admit enjoying dressing up as Link from the Twilight Princess Zelda game when you were younger."

The joke with that one was that Link could transform into a wolf and back in that game.

"Not interested."

Chloe huffed angrily and stalked from the room. I tried to revert my focus back to my stupid paper, but couldn't ignore the wolf counting backwards in my head.

'_Three. Two. One…'_

"Fine," I called after her, before standing up and reaching for my jacket. "But I'm going as that strategic guy with an IQ over 200-" I recalled- that character being the only one I remember liking from the show all those years ago- and followed her out of the room.

**Hehe. This one was just silly, but I like it. Hope you guys did too. If any of you are feeling as bittersweet as I am about the end of Naruto, hit me up on here or over on my Tumblr and we can discuss the last two chapters. :D**

**Also, just because so many of you have been asking SO nicely, I'll give you guys chapter 29 or Forbidden on Saturday. :)**

**Until tomorrow!**


	8. Day 8- Shopping

**Author's Note- Yeah, sorry for not keeping up with the 30 straight days. The last few days have been pretty tough. There was an impromptu trip to Seattle to help out a friend going through a hard time and then staying longer than planned… It was difficult. But I did promise that I was going to update Forbidden this last weekend, so I gave you guys that much. :) **

**As for this. I can't promise that I'll post **_**every**_** day, but I promise I will do all 30 days. :)**

**With that being said, Day 8 is humorous, so enjoy!**

**Day 8- Shopping**

**(Post: What You do to Me- Pre: Played)**

Lauren's up to something. I don't know what her reasoning was to asking both me and Chloe to come along while she gets some grocery shopping done, but I had a feeling that it was nothing good.

Chloe leaned back to catch my gaze from behind her aunt's back as she occupied the woman's right side. Her expression was wary. I merely shrugged in response from my perch on Lauren's right side. For all we knew, maybe Lauren just wanted Chloe's company and then someone to do her heavy lifting in case she needed it.

"So, you two have been searching for some apartments over in Corvallis?" Lauren asked as she and Chloe picked through a pile of oranges for the more ripe of the fruit.

"Yeah, unfortunately without too much luck at the moment. You'd think that finding a place to live in a college town wouldn't be too hard. What with all the college students going through each year. But Derek and I still have a year before we start in as freshman, so I'm not too worried about the lack of space yet."

_Great. It's already starting. _

I remained tense as I waited for Lauren to respond. This is usually the point where she voiced her unfavorable opinions and then there was the inevitable argument that followed. Though, I was normally not within hearing range whenever those fights occurred- at least, that's what these two thought anyway.

We moved on through the store and Lauren said, "It also depends on how big of a place you're looking for. How many rooms you're wanting."

_Wow. Subtle Lauren._

Chloe hesitantly sent her aunt a _'Don't start'_ look and muttered, "One room is big enough for the two of us."

Shockingly, Lauren merely nodded as if she had expected as much and was perfectly accepting of the idea. Now the look Chloe sent me was an anxious one. I shrugged again, just as perplexed as she was.

Lauren turned down an isle and we followed, both of us too focused on Lauren's odd behavior to notice what isle we were in. Then Lauren stopped and turned towards the shelves, finally directing our attentions that direction.

"_Oh, fucking hell," I cursed under my breath_ as my wide eyes zeroed in on the product Lauren was reaching for.

_This is not happening._

"Aunt Lauren!" Chloe exclaimed, face turning the reddest I've seen it in years. I'm sure mine wasn't much different.

"What?" Lauren said, tone stern. "You two are at a certain age that-"

"W-we are _not_ having this conversation." Chloe sputtered, ripping the box from Lauren's hand and shoving it back onto the shelf.

"I think it's about time that we do, Chloe. I was seventeen once, not to mention that I _am_ a doctor. I understand the urges you must be feeling-"

"Ugh!" Chloe blubbered, throwing her hands up to stop her aunt from continuing. She apparently hadn't learned much from the time the two of us were accused of fooling around in the crawlspace back in Lyle House. In these kinds of situations, the best policy was to just remain quiet and let the adults have their bouts on the birds and the bees, and hormones, and-

_But fuck, it's not the same this time at all!_

This time, Chloe and I were more likely to be fooling around- well, _were_, actually. And that made this so much more embarrassing.

Lauren picked up the box of condoms again and gave the two of us a pointed look.

"Look, I'm not the type of parental guardian that lives with the delusion that their child isn't participating in sexual activity."

"Oh my God," Chloe whimpered, dropping her face into her hands in defeat while Lauren continued. I just stood there beside her, hands shoved deep into my pockets while I stared up at the ceiling, praying for whatever higher power to strike me with lightning or to mow me over with a bus, right there in the middle of the store.

"So I'm going to do my job and inform you that- though I believe that it would be more prudent for young adults your age to abstain from sex- if you're going to be stupid, you might as well be smart about it."

"Right. Wouldn't want any puppies running around." I muttered dryly. It slipped out before I could stop it and I received two very displeased looks.

"Listen, aunt Lauren," Chloe started slowly. "We both had a freshman health class in high school. We know about all this already. If I promise you that we'll be safe, can we just skip this whole embarrassing episode?"

We _have_ been safe, but I think it was better for Chloe to put this all into a future tense for Lauren's sake.

"Oh please, Chloe. Those health classes don't teach you anything. Besides, it's my duty as your legal guardian to reiterate the importance of contraceptives and safe sex. Now, these come in different sizes…"

_Somebody fucking kill me._

**I can just imagine Lauren pulling this, in the middle of the store no less. I seriously hope no one has to suffer through something like this, but I enjoyed putting these two in this situation. Hope you found it comical as well. Until the next one!**


End file.
